Since Nick Sirianni (a.k.a. ****** Face) became head coach of the Eagles, he has been to the Super Bowl twice, winning one in his 4th year. His team has been in the playoffs every year. Yes, the coach we say is a joke, the coach we--me included--like to make fun of, has a 48-20 record, a .706 win%. How?
Let's take a look at the 2024 Eagles starting Super Bowl roster, a few key depth pieces, and see if we can find any similarity to our current roster. Listed for each player is draft position if drafted by the team.
Jalen Hurts—rd 2 (53)
Devonta Smith—rd 1 (10)
Dallas Goedart—rd 2 (49)
Jalen Carter—rd 1 (9)
Jordan Davis—rd 1 (13)
Josh Sweat—rd 4 (130)
Jordan Mailata—rd 7 (233)
Cam Jurgens—rd 2 (51)
Landon Dickerson—rd 2 (37)
Lane Johnson—rd 1 (4)
Nolan Smith—rd 1 (30)
Nakobe Dean—rd 3 (83)
Milton Williams—rd 3 (73)
Cooper Dejean—rd 2 (40) Rookie
Quinyon Mitchell—rd 1 (22) Rookie
Reed Blankenship—UDFA
Mehki Becton—FA bust
Zack Baun—FA never given a chance
AJ Brown—Trade
Saquan Barkley—FA
Darius Slay—FA
CJGJ—FA
Depth pieces that contributed:
Brandon Graham—rd 1 (13)
Moro Ojomo—rd 7 (249)
Jalyx Hunt—rd 3 (94) Rookie
Jeremiah Trotter Jr.—rd 5 (155) Rookie
Kenneth Gainwell—rd 5 (155)
Now before anyone points this out, yes, there is one constant here. Other than Lane Johnson and Brandon Graham, both Andy Reid picks, the entire team was assembled by Howie Roseman. So let's get this out of the way now: Howie Roseman is great at his job, despite some posters here saying that he is just average, gets lucky, and is in fact no better than any other GM. I'm sorry for saying this, but anyone at this point that still believes this is simply a fool.
Roster analysis shows a few interesting points. One is that Roseman knows when to trade back and get extra picks. He is not afraid to double down on certain positions, i.e. DT, or take the BPA despite already having quality at that position--something a few posters here would gag at. What he can't get in the draft, he gets through trades (Titans can go to hell for AJ Brown) or by pulling the trigger on FA signings big and small. He does what he can to plug every hole on the team with quality or players that he believes his coaches can coach up (Becton, Baun). Owner Jeff Lurie generally doesn't meddle with the draft, but it is interesting to note that Lurie pushed to draft Jalen Hurts because he believed he could be the next Russell Wilson (prime Russ, of course). The coaching staff also gives lower round picks a real chance if they see potential. When was the last time we had a Super Bowl winning team with two 7th round picks being major contributors besides the Chiefs?
I was bored and went back to see what we were saying about the Eagles before the season started. No one here thought the Eagles would win the Super Bowl, although many believed they would win the NFCE. Here are some other opinions by some posters, many of whom I like on this forum:
--Barkley is washed and that contract will kill them
--Steele will be better than Lane Johnson (I'm not outing this guy)
--Sirianni is an (insert insult here) and will soon be out of the league
--Roseman is fool's gold
--The loss of Kelce begins the decline of the Eagles
--Jalen Hurts sucks and his contract is almost as bad as Dak's
--Jalen Hurts is on his 7th OC in a row and will suck (the OC part is true, going back to college!)
--Darius Slay is old and can't play anymore
--They have no linebackers
--Nakobe Dean is a bust
--Nolan Smith is a bust
--Jordan Davis is a bust
On the flip side, there were more than a few posters saying the opposite, that those players are learning and the Eagles will always be a good team because they build from the trenches out. Many of us say this today, me included, as I am a huge advocate of inside/outside team building.
So what does any of this have to do with our own team? Let's look at our roster.
There is a lot of angst over our offensive line, with many opinions being tossed out daily. Do we have the talent the Eagles or Lions line does? No, of course not. But we have talent that can be put to use with proper coaching. We don't have a long-time vet like Johnson as a stable force, but Tyler Smith has emerged as our top notch vet talent. He is one of the best in the league at his position, and is a piece to build around. We see Beebe can be a PB caliber player once he develops. Will he be Creed Humphrey, Frank Ragnow, or Cam Jurgens? I don't know, but I see him reaching into the top five in two years. Let's not forget that Jurgens was thrown into the fire day one as a guard, playing next to and learning from Kelce for two years. Beebe didn't have that advantage but shows great promise.
Bottom line: Smith and Beebe will be the foundation of a very good line for us. We have raw talent to develop and still have the draft. Get tackle figured out and we will be fine. If the BPA is a tackle, don't say "Hey, we drafted one last year." No!!!! Take the player. How do you think teams like Philly, Detroit, and Baltimore got to have such good o-lines?? We can do the same.
Defensive line is a bit different. We have a lot of players to rotate in and out. How many DT's do we have that are real difference makers? Zero. Nada. If the BPA up is a DT, I don't care if we need a RB, WR, or edge. Fix the damn middle of the d-line! Yeah, there is no Jalen Carter to trade up for, but the DT rotation that won the last Super Bowl had two 1st, a 3rd, and a 7th! It doesn't matter how many shiny pieces you have on the outside if the middle of the trenches keep getting curb stomped against good teams.
Bottom line: It will take 2-3 years to get this team into anything resembling a team that has a chance to get to the NFCCG. It cannot be done without making sure both of our lines can compete with the best teams out there. If we have to spend half of the next two drafts on the lines, do it. If we have to double down on line positions, do it. It has to be done right or nothing else matters. Simply put, the majority of the teams that go deep in the playoffs have at least solid lines. We should too. It is no accident that the team that most resembles the 1992 Cowboys is the 2024 Eagles.
Now, do you trust our front office to do what is necessary? Do you believe in our coaching to get it done with the players we have?
I have a lot to say about other parts of the team, team building and coaching, but I have already written too much. I'll leave the super long posts to our resident novelist.
